Charles nicholson



(No Model.)

' A O. NICHOLSON.

FAN ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. I

Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

UNITED} STATES i PATENT Orrin-at CHARLES NICHOLSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FAN ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,063, dated April 9,1895; Application filed September 22, 1894. Serial No. 523,795. (Nomodel) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LOHARLEs NICHOLSON, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city, county, and State of New York,have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Fan Attachments forSewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull-and exact description therer of, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification.

In the operation of sewing machines in warm weather or in closed roomsit is desirable that some meansbe provided to produce a current of airdirected toward the operator to keep the operator cool and preventperspiration of the hands and soiling of the goods operated upon, whichsometimes happen with fine fabrics when the hands are moist. Variousforms of fan attachments have been devised for the purpose, buthave beengenerally found unsatisfactory on account of the increased powernecessary to run the machine, the liability to get out of order, theinterference with the material operated upon or with the operator instarting or stopping the machine, the disfiguring of the machine tableand the impossibility ofadjusting the fan to vary the direction of theair current.

It is the object of this invention to overcome the above objections, andto produce a device-which shall be efficient, simple, durable and cheap,and it consists of the novel construction of a fan attachment moreparticularly hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a sewingmachine bed-plate and its needle arm having my fan attachment securedthereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective viewof the fan attachment, and Fig. 3is a cross section on the-line to -ac of Fig. 2.

The fan attachments heretofore devised have generally been secured tothe sewing machine table, and in a short time become loose andinefficient, and mar or otherwise disfigure the table top, whilein mostcases such attachments are secured in sucha position as to be in the wayof'the operator or of the material operated upon. In other constructionsthe fans are operated by means of cords running over wheels or pulleysand necessitate corresponding changes in the sow ing machine to maketheir adaptation possible, thereby increasing the cost! I secure myattachment at the opposite side of the sewing machine to that occupiedby the operator, and thereby do not interfere with the material operatedupon, nor with the operator, and in such position that the fan may bedriven the fan set with reference to the hand or fly wheel to vary thedirection of the current of air as the individual operator may prefer.

In the drawings I have illustrated a form of the attachment which iswell adapted for most styles of sewing machines, but it will beunderstood that the details may be varied according to the peculiarnecessities of other styles of machines.

The usual arm A of the mechine is repre-' sented as supported upon thebed-plate or table B while the hand or fly wheel 0 is shown as having abearing for its shaft in a hub D projecting from the arm A.

The fan E is a rotary fan of ordinary con struction and is preferablysecured by a screw 6 and washer e against the end of a sleeve or tubularshaft F, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The friction disk G is preferablysecured to the other end of the same sleeve F by a screw 9. As ordinarymetal tubing can be used for the shaft F and readily tapped for thescrews e and 9, this construction is cheap a'swell as efficient. Theshaft or sleeve F has a bearing in a sleeve H and a washer g isinterposed between the disk G and the end of the. sleeve H to reducefriction on the bearing.

. As indicated above the sleeve H is so supported as to permit the fanto be fixed in any desired position. For this purpose I prefer thearrangement shown in which the sleeve H is formed on or secured to theend of an arm I which is bent or formed so that the axis of the bearingmay be approximately parallel with a longitudinal slot t' formed in themain portion of the arm. This arm, if it were long enough and properlybent might be secured to the bed-plate B by the screw J and thumb-nutj,but as such arrangement would be awkward and require a hole in thebedplate or table, I prefer to secure it by the same means to anothermember K which also is provided with a longitudinal slot and is furtherprovided with a clamp by which it may be secured to some .partof the armA or frame-work of the machine itself. As represented in Figs. 1 and 2the member K has a bent finger k and has pivoted thereon to cooperatewith the fixed finger k a finger 7.2 A set screw k is tapped into themember K and bears upon the inner end of the finger 76 so that byadjusting the set screw the member K may be clamped firmly upon any partwhich may be grasped by the fingers, as upon the projecting hub D.

By loosening the thumb-nut j and the set screw k the disk G may be setto bear properly upon any ordinary hand-wheel C while at the same timethe axis of the shaft H may be fixed in such position as to cause thecurrent of air from the fan to be directed as required.

From what has already been set forth the mode of use and operation aswell as the ad-- vantages of my improved attachment will be understoodclearly. In practical find that the fan, which may be quite smallbecause of its capacity for adjustment to throw the air where it isrequired, can be operated at a proper speed without any appreciableconsumption of power.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a rotary fan, a frictiondisk connected to the fan to drive the same, a bent arm to support saidfan and disk with the latter in contact with its driving wheel, said armhaving a longitudinal slot, and a screw passing through said slot,whereby said arm'may be adjusted both longitudinally and angularly andthe fan set to direct the current of air as required, substantially asshown and described.

2. The combination of a rotary fan, a tubular shaft, a screw tapped intothe end of said shaft to secure the fan thereto, a friction disk, asecond screw tapped into the opposite end of said shaft to secure thedisk thereto, a sleeve bearing for said shaft, and an arm to supportsaid bearing, substantially as shown and described.

.3. The combination of a rotary fan a friction disk connected to the fanto drive the same, a slotted arm to support said fan and disk with thelatterin contact with its driving wheel, a second arm or member alsoslotted and having a clamp by which it may be secured upon a fixed part,and ascrew passing through said slots and adapted to secure the firstarm upon the second in adjusted position, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. The combination with a rotary fan and a wheel to drive the same, of asupporting arm consisting of two independent parts or members, the onebeing movable with respect to the other to make more or less of angletherewith, one member having a bearing for the fan and wheel and theother member having a clamp by which it may be secured in ad justedposition upon a fixed part and means to secure the first member inadjusted p'osition upon the second member, whereby the fan and disk maybe supported with their axes of rotation in different positions withrespect to the driving wheel to direct the current of air as required,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES NICHOLSON.

Witnesses:

A. N. J ESBERA, A. WIDDER.

